Battle of Midway

Aerial photograph of Midway Atoll, looking just south of west across the southern side of the atoll, 24 November 1941. Eastern Island, then the site of Midway's airfield, is in the foreground. Sand Island, location of most other base facilities, is across the entrance channel.

A turning point in the Pacific War of World War II, the Battle of Midway was called “the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare” by military historian Craig Symonds. While Japan was planning to lure American to Midway in a strategic trap, American cryptographers determined the date and location of Japan’s attack and forewarned the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. Ultimately, four Japanese fleet carriers were sunk and after two days of attacks by the USN, the Japanese ships retreated. The victory at the Battle of Midway led Japan to abandon its plan to expand its reach in the Pacific and resulted in their military taking a defensive role for the remainder of the war. U.S. forces were injected with confidence and the tide of the war in the Pacific shifted in favor of the allies.

Collage di varie foto sulla battaglia di Midway.

Overview of US and Japanese aircraft that took part in the Battle of Midway, 4-6 June 1942.

"Sinking Sun": painting by Griffith Baily Coale, oil on canvas, 1942. Description: A U.S. Marine stands at parade rest on the bow of a PT boat as she moves slowly out to sea from Midway to give decent burial to Japanese fliers shot down on the islands during the battle. The red ball of the rising sun is prophetically repeated by the round disc and spreading rays of the sinking sun.

Brochure by Patrick D. Weadon